Wrong way, keep going: squeeze put on M5 East

When Sydney's M5 East freeway opens on December 9, motorists will be able to drive on the wrong side of the road - legally.

Wrong way, keep going: squeeze put on M5 East

28 October 2001

When Sydney's M5 East freeway opens on December 9, motorists will be able to drive on the wrong side of the road - legally.

While redesigning the Sydney road network to accommodate the new freeway that slashes through its south-west, planners found they had a problem at the eastern, airport end: five lanes had to go into four.

Running past Sydney Airport and under one of its runways, the existing General Holmes Drive has three city-bound lanes coming up from Rockdale. Two lanes will be added, bringing vehicles off the M5 East.

The problem area is the spot at which vehicles come through the runway tunnel and up to the Foreshore Road turn-off, which heads down to Port Botany.

There are five lanes feeding traffic in, but the road is only wide enough to take four.

The potential bottleneck could cause traffic delays, undermining the value of the M5 extension.

The solution, according to Roads and Traffic Authority planners, is to steal a fifth lane from the other side of the road during the morning peak, when there is only light traffic heading away from the city.

Some city-bound traffic will be channelled into the closest lane on the out-bound side - that is, the furthest right-hand lane if you are heading away from the city.

This will only operate city bound from 6.30am to 9.30am.

"Tidal-flow" traffic systems already exist in other parts of Sydney, such as on the Harbour Bridge, where lanes change direction to cope with morning and afternoon peaks.

But with a concrete wall dividing the road, M5 East motorists will have the unusual sensation of driving next to on-coming traffic with the wall on their left.

A temporary median strip will be erected every morning. A truck will use a special conveyor to lay the 1.5-kilometre yellow and orange median strip.

The new tidal system will be put in place from Monday November 26, two weeks before the opening of the M5 East, to help motorists get used to the new arrangements.